Several memorial ceremonies have been held in recent years (2019-2023) at the Mass Murder Site in Mažeikiai, most, if not all, of them as a result of local initiatives.
The following is a review of these memorial ceremonies based on material found in relevant internet websites.
A non-traditional history lesson was held on September 21, 2019 at the mass murder site adjacent to the Mažeikiai Jewish Cemetery to commemorate the Genocide Day of Lithuanian Jews. The lesson was organized by the school history teacher Silva Paulauskiené. Participants included students and teachers of the Mažeikiai Merkelis Račkauskas gymnasium.
The memorial ceremony is reviewed in the commemoration film History of the Jews of Mažeikiai Merkelis Račkauskas gymnasium (English subtitles)
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"Road of Memory 1941-2021" ("Atminties Kelias 1941-2021"). A memorial ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the mass murder of the Jewish community of Mažeikiai, was held on July 29, 2021, at the old Jewish cemetery in Mažeikiai. The ceremony was organized and hosted by the Municipality of Mažeikiai, the Merkelis Račkauskas gymnasium, representatives from the Israeli Embassy in Vilnius, and others.
 Original Invitation |
 Invitation (English) |
"Path of Memory 1941-2021" memorial ceremony on the official Mažeikiai Municipality website
Today, July 29, 2021, the "Path of Memory" stretched in Mažeikiai, marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania. The procession "of deliberation and reflection" started from the "Aitvara" mill in Pavenčiai and made its way to the Mažeikiai Jewish cemetery, where 80 years earlier almost 4,000 people were killed. Stones with the names of the Jews who died were placed there and the memory of the victims was honored with a minute of silence.
The procession and the event honoring the victims of the Holocaust were attended by the Mayor of Mažeikiai District Municipality, Vidmantas Macevičius; Deputy Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Lithuania, Consul Adi Cohen-Hazanov and Economic Attaché Konstantin Hazanov; Chairman of the Šiauliai County Jewish Community Sania Kerbelis and representatives of the Lithuanian Commission on Nazi and Soviet Occupation Ingrida Vilkiené, Deputy Head of the Secretariat for Assessing Crimes in Lithuania, Coordinator of Education Programs.
Historical facts about the painful summer of 1941 were presented by the Mažeikiai museum worker Vytautas Ramanauskas, recalling the events in the area. Memories were shared by Genovaité Černiauskyté-Dugniené, the only one of the Righteous Among the Nations living in Mažeikiai, relative of the family that saved the poet Alfons Bukontas.
This day was chosen for commemoration in Mažeikiai not by chance; on July 29, 1941, the Germans entered Mažeikiai and on July 30, the mass killings began. Other sources mention August 3, 1941 as the date of the mass murder of Jewish men, and August 9, 1941 as the date that Jewish women and children were murdered.
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| Municipality of Mažeikiai website; additional photos | |
"Road of Memory 1941-2021" memorial ceremony on the official Israeli Lithuanian Embassy website
Yesterday, [Israeli] Deputy Ambassador [to Lithuania] Adi Cohen-Hazanov and Economic Adviser Kosta Hazanov participated in the "Road of Memory" in Mažeikiai. Those gathered paid their respects to the approximately 4,000 Jews who were brutally murdered at this location by the Nazis and their local collaborators.
"Preserving our collective memory for future generations is especially important because it connects us, builds and nurtures our identity and culture" Adi Cohen-Hazanov told the audience.
The commemoration was also attended by Vidmantas Macevičius, Mayor of Mažeikiai District Municipality; Sania Kerbelis, Chairman of the Šiauliai County Jewish Community; and Ingrida Vilkiené, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Lithuanian Commission to Assess Crimes of Nazi and Soviet Occupation in Lithuania, Education Program Coordinator.
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| Israeli Embassy Facebook Page; additional photos | |
On September 23, 2022, an integrated history and Lithuanian language and literature lesson entitled "Confrontation with History", which was dedicated to commemorating the Genocide Day of Lithuanian Jews, was held in the assembly hall of the Merkelis Račkauskas gymnasium. History teacher Silva Paulauskiené explained to the gathered students why September 23 is the commemoration day of the Genocide of the Jews of Lithuania. She presented sad statistics about the destroyed people of the Jewish nation all over the world, in Lithuania in general and in Mažeikiai in particular. Students read the names of 24 murdered high school students and four teachers.
In the second part of this activity, the students attended a memorial ceremony at the mass murder site which is adjacent to the old Jewish cemetery of Mažeikiai. Names of the 24 high school students and four teachers of the gymnasium who were murdered during the Holocaust were read. The participating students wrote the names of the murdered high school students on pebbles and quietly laid them on the stone Menorah on the ground in front of the memorial monument (see photo below).
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| Gymnasium website | |
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Compiled by Raymond Ravinsky Updated: 16 July 2023 Copyright © 2009 Raymond Ravinsky |
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